Briella tried to hold in her laughter. It was late and she should have gotten off her phone hours ago. But, there was a good chance school would be cancelled tomorrow; the forecast called for 6 to 8 inches of snow and there was already at least 3 inches covering the roadways. Besides, she couldn't be the next to exit the video chat. The friend group had already made fun of Brayden for hanging up early. In his defense, though, he had to share a room with Colton, who would probably tattle in the morning if he couldn't sleep. She jumped as the bedroom door swung open to reveal a pissed off Sam. He was wearing only pajama pants and his unruly hair suggested he had been sleeping.
"What are you doing?" Uncle Sam's voice was husky, "Do you know what time it is? You have school tomorrow."
"Come on." Briella tried, her voice teetering on begging, "You know school is gonna be cancelled. Look at it out there." She gestured towards her bedroom window.
Her uncle started to move closer to the bed and his voice deepened more than usual. "It doesn't matter. The rules still apply. Give me your phone." He held his hand out, obviously expecting compliance.
Briella considered fighting back. After all, the video chat was still going and everyone could hear and see her getting chewed out by pissed off Uncle Sam. While he probably wouldn't spank in the middle of the night and risk waking everyone up; her uncle was known to give a solid smack or two just to drive the point home. Either way, Briella did not want to find out. Reluctantly, she agreed with the request for the phone.
"Can I say goodbye?"
Sam nodded once.
"Sorry guys. I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow."
"I wouldn't count on it." Uncle Sam said casually as Briella ended the call and handed the phone to him.
"This is mine." He said as Briella placed the phone into his hand.
"Yes sir." Briella didn't argue. Once Uncle Sam or Dad made a decision it was best not to fight it. Something Briella learned the hard way.
Uncle Sam reached down and grabbed Briella's comforter to tuck her in. "You better hope school is cancelled tomorrow, I'm not writing you an excuse."
Briella settled into bed and cuddled her pillow. "Okay. I get it. Goodnight Uncle Sam."
"Goodnight. I love you. Get some sleep." He left the room.
The toilet flushed a few moments later and Briella groaned. She hadn't counted on anyone needing to use the bathroom during the night. The bathroom that was right across the hall from her bedroom. Next time she'd have to be more careful.
The following day, Briella was woken by an excited Cecelia telling her it was a snow day. Briella was grateful her instincts were correct but still hated the fact she hadn't gone to bed until the early-morning. It was only 8:30 and she was awake.
"Uncle Deanie said breakfast is ready." Cecelia bounced on her left foot. "Let's go!"
How could someone have so much energy in the morning? Briella thought as she drug herself to the her vanity to comb her hair. The 15 year old mentally prepared herself for the follow-up bitchfest from the night before. All things considered, she got off pretty easy. Briella was greeted with the smell of bacon and eggs as she made her way down the stairs. Her dad usually didn't leave for work until closer to 9 and on days they didn't have school, he tended to make breakfast for everyone.
"Morning sweetheart. How do you want your eggs?" Dad asked from the stove.
He didn't seem mad. Maybe Uncle Sam didn't say anything. "Dippy. Please."
"Sure thing." Dad smiled and cracked an egg. "How'd you sleep?"
Briella wasn't sure how to answer the question. Maybe Dad was testing her. She sat at the kitchen counter next to her brother. "Alright."
Dad didn't say anything else on the subject and appeared to be focusing on his cooking. He distributed the plates accordingly, the twins at the counter and the younger kids in the living room where they were watching tv. He cleaned up the rest of the breakfast supplies and addressed the group, "Alright kids. I'm heading out. Behave yourselves. Gramps or I will probably check-in during lunch. Call us if you need anything." He left through the kitchen door leading to the garage.
"Did Dad say anything about me?" Briella asked her brother after their father left.
With a mouthful of bacon, he responded, "Whadda ya mean?"
"Like with Uncle Sam?"
Talking a gulp of orange juice to wash down the meat, Brayden said, "What are you talking about?"
Sighing, Briella answered her brother. "Last night Uncle Sam caught me FaceTiming at like 1:30. Did he say anything to Dad about it?"
"I don't know. Uncle Sam left before I got up."
"Dad didn't say anything. He must not know." Briella stated nonchalantly, almost boastfully.
"You're such a brat. You get caught on your phone at 1:30 and nothing fucking happens. I was texting at eleven and got bitched out." Brayden shoved more bacon into his mouth as he talked.
"I did get in trouble. He took my phone!" Briella fired back. She was tired of her brother always thinking she never got in trouble.
"Chill out. I'm not mad." He laughed.
Briella believed her brother. Brayden hated when she was in trouble. Any of the Winchester kids really. Brayden often attempted to talk their dad out of a punishment or volunteered to take the consequence himself, if he were able to distract whoever was pissed off and delivering ultimatums. It wasn't uncommon for Brayden to refuse orders and make smart assed comments when a sibling was in the line of fire.
After cleaning up their breakfast dishes, the kids settled in for the day. Brayden won the awesome big brother award by dragging out Cecelia's huge princess castle for her to play with. Colton was content to sit on his tablet and didn't require a lot of attention, which was just fine. Briella could relax and watch some reality t.v. on their streaming service. So what if that was her guilty pleasure? A girl needed drama.
"Here this is for you." Brayden tossed his phone at his sister.
A text from Carson: 'Does Briella have her phone?'
'No Sam took it'
'Can I talk to her?'
'Hey ;).'
'sorry about last night. :('
'It was worth talking to you.'
'So... you still coming over today? Mitch said he can pick you up'
'What about the snow?'
'He has a truck.'
'Sure :)'
'10 minutes. He's picking up his friend now'
Briella tossed the phone back to her brother. "Thanks. I'm going to Carson's."
"What about Dad?"
"What about him?" Briella asked.
"Don't ya think you should tell him? He's gonna freak if he finds out you left."
"That's why he isn't gonna find out. I'll be home by 3." Briella stated confidently, but quickly her tone changed, "Please Brayden, don't tell him. You know Dad isn't gonna let me. Especially if I call from your phone and have to say Uncle Sam has mine." Her assertive voice shaking.
"You know I'm not gonna tell." Brayden stated sincerely. "But if he comes for lunch, what should I say?" He sounded almost desperate.
Briella thought about her response. In all honesty, she forgot about Dad saying they might check-in. Nonetheless, she offered her solution, "Tell him I'm taking a nap in my room." She quickly added, "But say that I've only been sleeping for like 10 minutes. I don't want him to wake me up."
That was the last thing Briella needed. Dad was a rough, no-nonsense, son of a bitch; he barked orders and demanded obedience. But, he was also a concerned father who loved his children more than anything. If he thought Briella was ill or sleeping more than usual the might check up on her.
"Alright. Good luck." Brayden half smiled, the full emotion never reaching his face.
"Thank you." Briella hugged her brother. She knew he was risking his own ass covering for her.
XXX
Bored, Brayden logged onto the Xbox. He knew Carson wouldn't be on if he was with Briella, but other friends might. Part of Brayden was jealous. Carson and he were friends since elementary school, but just recently Carson started flirting with his twin sister. During the beginning it was extremely weird; but, Brayden figured there could be worse boys flirting with Ella. At least he wouldn't be afraid to take Carson in a fight if needed.
Around 12:30, the kitchen door opened. Dad walked in and greeted everyone. He took his snow covered boots off and walked into the living area.
Noticing his son, Dean spoke, "Hey Bray. How's everything going here? Any problems?"
"Everything's fine."
Dad smiled, "I see Cece guilt tripped you into the basement." He nodded towards the princess dollhouse.
Brayden returned the light humor, "Well worth the trip to keep her entertained. She's been playing for hours."
Then the dreaded question, "Where's your sister?"
Brayden tried to sound as casual as he could. "Taking a nap." He added quickly, "Upstairs."
"Is she feeling okay? She looked a little tired this morning." Dean studied Brayden, eyebrow raised.
"She just went up a little bit ago. She said it was too loud down here." Brayden was proud of himself for coming up with an excuse as to why his sister went upstairs to sleep.
"I'm gonna go check on her." Dad said and Brayden's stomach dropped.
Brayden had to think fast. He had two options: try to stop his dad from going upstairs or pretend he didn't know. He chose to not say anything and see what happened. If he tried to stop dad, he'd probably fail. Then he'd be getting shit for lying. If he pretended to not know, he could at least warn his sister, maybe, if he text Carson in time. Plus, Brayden could save his own ass. Probably.
Dad stomped angrily down the stairs and directly towards Brayden. He placed a strong grip on his son's arm and pulled him forward. "She's in her room, huh?"
Brayden, feigning confusion, answered, "Yeah?"
Dad's grip tightened.
"That's what she said!" Brayden exclaimed, his heart pounding.
Dad didn't respond verbally, instead he started walking towards the stairs, dragging Brayden with him. Dean marched the boy into Briella's room and roughly released his grip next to the empty bed. Brayden stumbled backwards slightly.
"Well, smart ass, where is she?" Dad roared. His eyes were smoldering mad and his nose twitched with each heavy breath.
Brayden threw his arms out, "I don't know Dad!"
"Don't lie to me!" Dean took a threatening step forward and pointed his finger at Brayden.
"I'm not."
"Brayden Winchester. You have until the count of 3 to tell me where she is."
"Maybe she went to someone else's room?" Brayden hoped he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.
Dad raised one eyebrow, "Yeah? How about I make you a deal. We go check every room of this house. If we find her, you go on with your day. We don't find her, I whip your ass for lying to me. Sound like a plan?"
Brayden considered his dad's proposal. Maybe this was a test. If he agreed, he could continue to play his dad. After all, if he thought Briella was napping, he would have no reason to think she left the house. But then he'd get his ass kicked. Unless that was a bluff from dad? Dad didn't bluff though. Usually. But still if he didn't take the proposal, dad would probably still whip him for lying. Shit. Either way he was screwed. Maybe if he - Brayden stopped mid thought due to being shaken aggressively by his father.
"I'm talking to you."
"Yessir." Brayden recovered. "I don't know where Ella is."
For the second time today, Dad didn't respond verbally and gripped Brayden's arm roughly to drag him. They marched to each room upstairs, Dad slamming the door open and aggressively calling for his daughter. Each room was met with silence and an empty bed. The last place checked was Brayden's room. After not receiving a response to his call, Dean moved to the bed. He easily threw Brayden over his thighs and gave three sharp smacks.
Brayden grunted in response.
"Now. Am I continuing? Or are you gonna tell me where your sister is?" Dad's voice was venomous.
" I don't know."
Apparently that was not the correct response. Brayden clenched his jaw tightly as Dad spanked him. His hand falling rapidly and quickly, peppering every centimeter of Brayden's butt. Dad wasn't holding back very much and even through jeans Brayden was quickly feeling the burn. Dad wasn't spanking in any pattern, but made sure his son's entire ass was getting nailed. Just as Brayden was about to give in and start crying, Dad stopped abruptly.
"I think you get the point. I'm not messing around. Your sister is obviously not in this house. Now either you tell me where or I find her on my own. But know the longer it takes me the more pissed I'm going to get."
Catching his breath, Brayden answered reluctantly. "She's at Carson's house."
"How did she get there?"
"His brother picked her up." Brayden answered while he stared at the carpet below him.
Dad helped Brayden stand, but offered no other comfort. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Briella's number.
No answer.
Dean growled and tried again.
No answer.
"God dammit Briella. Answer your fucking phone!" He left on her voicemail.
"Dad." Brayden said cautiously, "she doesn't have her phone."
"What do you mean?" Dad's eyes narrowed.
"Uncle Sam took it last night. He didn't give it back." Brayden said quietly.
Dad didn't say anything. He left Brayden's bedroom and slammed the door loud enough if one of the kids had done so he would have had something to say about it.
XXX
Briella and Carson were sitting on his couch watching a movie. Briella was monitoring the time to ensure she would be home in plenty of time for Dad or Uncle Sam to get home from work.
"Oh shit." Carson nearly dropped his phone before handing it to Briella.
It was a text from Brayden: Tell Briella our dad is on his way.
Briella text him back frantic: what the fuck. You said you'd cover?
Brayden: I tried
Briella was starting to panic. No doubt her father would be livid. She thought about running but where would she go? Dad would be there any minute and would only get more pissed. She had no option other than to sit and wait. She decided she would go without a fight. If dad was half as mad as she figured he'd be, then she was in for an ass whipping. One that she'd like to struggle through in private.
"What's wrong?" Mitchell asked upon entering the room and seeing Briella crying into Carson's shirt.
"Her dad found out she snuck out. He's on his way."
Mitchell shook his head, "Damn. Good luck."
Everyone's attention was turned to the front door opening. A very pissed off Dean Winchester stood on the other side. Without saying a word, he let himself in and strode towards Briella. Briella stood from the couch and instinctively covered her bottom with her hands.
"Go get in the car."
Briella nodded and turned to walk out the door, still covering her butt. She knew Dad was right behind her and way too close to her butt for Briella's liking. She reached to open the car door and was greeted with a searing pain on her right butt cheek.
"Dad!" She said with watery eyes.
"The way you were holding your ass looked like you were expecting it. Didn't wanna disappoint." Dad stated without heat and moved to his side of the car.
Briella looked through the windshield and tried to see if anybody had seen her get smacked. She looked around the neighborhood too. Some kids she knew from school lived across the street. Last fucking thing she needed was for them to see her get her ass spanked like a child. She flexed her butt muscles and tried to get some of the weight off her right side. How was it even possible for her ass to sting this bad from one swat?
The car slid as Dean rounded a corner, "These roads are shit."
Briella wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer, so she didn't.
"Why does Sammy have your phone?" Dean didn't take his eyes off the road.
"He took it last night."
"No shit Briella. I asked you why."
Okay. Dad was definitely mad.
"Because he has stupid rules." Briella answered with more aggression than she intended.
Dad sighed. "It's going to be a long day with this attitude."
"I'm not giving you attitude. You asked a question and I answered it." Why was Dad always like this? She couldn't have a bad day? Dad's fucking life was a bad day based on his attitude.
Dad pulled the car off the main road and into a parking lot. He growled his command, "Look at me."
She complied.
"You're in enough trouble. Do you wanna add disrespect to the list?"
Briella furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.
"I'm this" Dean held his thumb and pointer finger millimeters apart "close to smacking the attitude right outta your mouth." He dropped his fingers, but held his fixed glaze. "Yessir better be the only words outta your mouth the rest of this ride home. Capeesh?"
Briella nodded but added a "yessir" after Dean's eyes narrowed even more.
Dad seemed to accept the comment and turned back onto the road.
Neither Winchester said anything until Dean parked the car in the family's garage. "Go sit at the table and wait for me."
Remembering her father's earlier threat, Briella obeyed without argument. She noticed her father hadn't left the car yet, she allowed herself a quick glance and saw him run his hand through his hair then rest his elbow on the steering wheel, his hand holding up his forehead. Once inside, she saw her brother was laying, belly down, on the couch. He stood instantly when he realized his sister had returned.
"Ella please believe me. I tried. Dad busted my ass or I woulda held out longer."
Upon hearing her brother, Briella felt guilty. Her brother got spanked trying to cover for her? "I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd find out."
"How bad is it?"
"Well I'd say I'm in for a whipping of epic proportions. He wants me at the table, not my room."
As a Winchester child, getting sent to your room was hardly a fun time. But your fate wasn't necessarily sealed. It could be considered a time-out - an hour or so alone to consider whatever the crime was, a grounding - a few days alone to really consider your actions. Usually paired with extra chores or an essay from Uncle Sam. Or, a spanking. But with some smooth talking and shear luck, a child could get away with just a telling off, probably some yelling, and definitely threats of what torture awaits should the crime be committed again. But the kitchen table. There was no way around it. That meant a belt whipping. No ifs, ands, or buts. Well there would be a butt involved, but it would be red and throbbing by the end of it.
Brayden offered a sympathetic smile as their father entered the room.
"Get outta here." His Dad motioned towards the stairs with his head.
"I'm staying." Apparently that was as close to 'no' as Brayden was willing to risk.
"Yeah?" Dad placed his hand on his belt buckle. It wasn't overtly obvious, nonetheless threatening. "How about you go a round. Then you can spend the rest of the night in your room. What the hell, you can spend the rest of the week there." Dean's voice was bordering on sarcastic.
"Brayden quit being dumb." Briella nearly yelled.
"I'd take your sister's advice." Dean unbuckled his belt, but didn't move to unthread it. He left his unhooked belt dangle in front of him. Almost as a reminder of its presence and easiness of retrieval.
"I lied to you earlier. Remember?" Brayden offered.
"Yeah. And you got your butt spanked. Like you're about to again."
"Brayden! Stop being a fucking dickhead. Just go!" Breilla yelled through tears.
"No." Brayden must've been willing to risk saying 'no' if it was technically directed towards his sister. "I'm not letting him whip you. I've done way worse than go to a friend's house without asking."
"Yeah?" Dad questioned. "And what happened? Each and every fucking time? Every time you disobeyed me, Sam, or Gramps you got your butt blistered. Just like Briella is going to. You know how this family works." Dad's voice was surprisingly calm, but nonetheless terrifying.
"But she didn't disobey. You never said she couldn't go to Carson's house." Brayden stepped in between his father and sister.
"Because she never asked!" Dad was yelling now. "School was cancelled for a fucking reason. Some 17 year old with a beat up truck doesn't need to be driving in this shit. Especially not with my daughter! And Briella never asked because she knew damn well I would say no."
That was it. Dad wasn't mad Briella had snuck out, well of course he was mad, but not whip her ass to shreds mad. The real reason he was so upset was because Briella had gotten into a car with an inexperienced driver in the aftermath of a snowstorm strong enough to cancel school and all activities in the town.
"I'm sorry daddy." Briella moved from behind her protective brother and faced her angry father. "I didn't think."
"Damn right you didn't think! It's a mess out there. Now bend over the table. I'm done talking."
Briella nodded sadly, but complied. She moved a chair and bent over the large glass table. She moved her hair to one side and laid her cheek on her folded elbows.
Brayden, defeated, started to move towards the stairs but stopped at the sound of Dean's voice, "Hold it. You had your chance. Hands on the table. You bought yourself a front row seat."
Surprisingly, he didn't put up a fight. Brayden moved to the farthest end of the table from Briella and placed his palms on the surface. He tucked his chin into his chest.
Dad didn't waste any more time. Briella felt him move to stand behind her. She clenched her butt in anticipation. The impact was instant. And painful. Briella let out a whimper, but tried to keep from yelling out. Her face was turned away from her brother and she let her tears fall freely. Briella regretted her decision to wear only leggings and cheeky panties. The belt felt like it was striking flesh with each blow and she was loosing her battle to not cry out in pain. A harder blow hit right where butt meets thigh and Briella stood straight, hands grasping her swollen cheeks.
"Get back down."
She didn't want to, but Briella did as she was told. This time, she faced her brother. Brayden's hands were in the same position but his face was red, his eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Almost done." Was all Dad said before he unleashed his wrath on his daughters lower bottom and upper thighs. He stopped swinging and moved to comfort a now sobbing Briella. It took Briella a moment to realize her dad's hand was now loving, as he rubbed circles on her back. "Shh, baby girl. It's over."
Briella stiffly stood up and practically fell into her father's chest. She continued to sob as Dean rubbed a hand up and down her back. After several minutes, she released herself and wiped her tears.
"Alright sweetheart, go clean yourself up. You can come down whenever you're ready." Dad gave a final quick hug and kissed her head softly.
As Briella was walking up the stairs, she heard her dad address Brayden, "You can get up." He was saying more, but Briella didn't catch the end of it. She was too focused on getting to the bathroom to clean her snotty and wet face.
Looking into the bathroom mirror, Briella started to cry harder. Her butt was on fire. She couldn't remember a time Dad lit her up that bad. Usually she only got a few strokes with the belt. Briella rubbed at her swollen cheeks once again. She washed her face and relocated to her bedroom, where she planned to hide under her blankets for the rest of the night.
A knock on the door woke Briella some time later. She pulled her comforter down and turned, just slightly, towards the door "yeah?"
Uncle Sam entered, his face not giving away his emotion. "I heard you got into some trouble today."
"Yes sir."
Uncle Sam moved to sit on the edge of her bed, "You know, your little stunt got me blasted too."
Briella pushed herself up on her elbows then, "Why do you mean?"
"Last night, your phone." Sam stated in a manner that suggested Briella should know what he meant. "I didn't tell your dad about it. I figured a day without your phone and being stuck babysit would be enough punishment. I didn't expect you to runaway."
"I didn't runaway. I was gonna come back." Briella said sadly.
"Still. You left without telling me or Dean. He was scared Ella. Finding out you left was bad enough. Finding out you left with a dumb teenager set him over the edge."
"I know Uncle Sam. I was stupid."
Uncle Sam smiled. "You're not stupid. You're a teenager. And teenagers do dumb things, especially Winchester teenagers. But Winchester's also get whipped for their dumb choices."
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Briella commented, "Yeah. I could've done without the ass beating."
"But I bet you won't do it again." Sam smirked.
"Got that right. I'm teachable."
"Think you can come downstairs? Gramps was stopping for dinner on the way home, he should be here soon."
"Ah, Gramps is coming. What are the chances he's gonna spank me?"
"I think you should be more worried about me. I'd say if you make it downstairs without a swat from me, you're in the clear."
"I'm sorry Uncle Sam." Briella said sincerely. "Thanks for not telling Dad on me. I promise I'll make better choices."
Sam reached over to hug his niece, "I know you will, honey. Come on, let's go before your dad and brother eat everything.
Briella smiled and made her way, albeit slowly, down the stairs to join her family for pizza and wings. Thankfully, Gramps didn't have anything to say about her disappearing act. Dad didn't say anything more on the topic, but seemed more cuddly than usual. He always was after spanking one of them. After eating, the family settled in for the night, Gramps included, to watch a movie. Briella was grateful her family was more 'forgive and forget' when it came to punishments. While she hated getting her ass toasted, she didn't think she could tolerate the silent treatment or passive aggressiveness she heard about from friends. She messed up, paid for it, and moved on. Just like she always would.